Title: Changes

Author: ZombieJazz

Fandom: Law & Order: SVU

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Law and Order SVU and its characters belong to Dick Wolf.

Summary: Elliot is suspicious that is Olivia is pregnant. She's not happy about him nosing into her business.

Author's Notes: This AU series is for SVU fans and readers who want Olivia to have something that resembles a more normal life outside of work and a family of her own - hopefully somewhat realistically within the canon of SVU. Her relationship with Elliot is that of partner and protective older brother and colleague. It won't devolve from that - they aren't ever going to get together in this series. If you're an E/O shipper, you likely won't enjoy these stories. The timeline is a little loose but this is generally set in about Season 8/9. This story is meant as a background piece to kind of set up my other series of stories, A Complicated State of Happiness is next. Feedback is great and advise if you're going to distribute elsewhere.

She hated that she had to let Elliot pick her up outside of the ultrasongrapher's office building, but the whole appointment had ended up taking longer than she anticipated and she couldn't waste more time getting back down to the precinct. They had to get over to talk to Warner and they were supposed to be touching base with the victim's family too. She knew this would save time as much as she despised that she had had to call him from the waiting room and give him the address, asking him to just meet her there before she lost more of her work day.

She got into the car as he pulled up and took her seat and did up her seatbelt without saying a word, even though she could feel him watching her and clearly waiting for her to say something. But, after she got the belt clipped she crossed her arms in front of her and gazed straight ahead for a moment.

"So are we going?" She finally said, glancing at him.

He gave a small sigh and flicked on the blinker to pull back out into traffic and to start making their way to the Medical Examiner's Office. She just didn't have the stomach for all the smells in there these days – without even getting into what she was usually having to look at. She couldn't decide if Melinda, a medical doctor as well, had likely figured out what was up or had just decided she'd suddenly lost her stomach for the morgue and autopsy bay.

Thankfully, she was minding her own business a bit better than Elliot at this point, and hadn't said anything, even on the days where she'd had to excuse herself or had literally started dry heaving in the room. She was starting to get better about remembering to smear the Vapo-Rub under her nose before stepping inside or at least grabbing a mask, though she knew that change was just drawing attention to herself too. She wasn't sure which route was worse – puking like a rookie or looking like a newb.

"How'd it go?" He asked as they came to a stoplight light and glanced at her.

She just nodded as a way of saying 'fine' but she could feel his eyes still on her. "We aren't having this conversation, El," she said sternly, giving him a look and then looking back out the front window. "The light's green," she told him, as he continued to gaze at her.

He turned his eyes back to the road and again started to drive.

"I was so nervous going into Kathy's first ultrasound with Maureen," he offered.

"I never said it was an ultrasound," she said flatly.

"Oh, was it a prenatal?" He asked instead.

"El, for all you know, that could've been an abortion clinic or an adoption centre or just my family doctor for a flu shot, maybe my shrink, my dentist for a teeth cleaning. Drop it."

He glanced at her and tapped at the steering wheel. "You know I'm there for you, right?" he finally said.

She sighed. "Elliot, yes. But this is my life and my business. Please – give me some space here."

He nodded but then added, "I know going to doctor's appointments alone can be … intimidating. So, if you ever want some company … even just in the waiting room …"

"El," she snapped but sighed and tried to calm her voice. "I'm a grown woman. I can handle going to the doctor's on my own. Can you please, just drive?"

He looked at her sideways again and she just really wished he'd keep his eyes on the road. Not watching the traffic in this part of Manhattan was like asking to get a fender bender or, worse, to pin a pedestrian.

"So the baby's alright, though?" He asked.

He had consistently dropped little comments when they were alone, since she'd confirmed for him that she was pregnant, that she should be careful doing certain things. His list of certain things, in private, seemed to involve just about everything, which her doctor had assured her was overkill at this point, though realistic probably coming up all too quickly at this point. Elliot also kept prying on if she'd talked to Cragen or the union or HR. She avoided answering him - but the truth was she hadn't. Not yet.

Though, she knew as she started her second trimester she needed to tell her captain and just generally start making arrangements for how this would impact her assignments, desk duty becoming an upcoming necessity for her and maternity leave – and just how all that worked.

She'd started looking into it. But the reality was that collecting much of that information privately had been a little challenging so that had been something she'd been trying to work around. And, even though she knew she needed to talk to Cragen very soon, she still wasn't sure how to have that conversation with him. She knew he'd be respectful and professional about it – but it still felt awkward to the point she didn't even like thinking about it.

Then there was the fact that she really wasn't ready for it to be public knowledge around the station yet. She wasn't even sure when she would be ready for that – even though she knew she'd probably start showing soon.

She sighed audibly. "The baby is fine, El," she said flatly.

The truth was the appointment had been exciting. A little nerve-wrecking but in the end also very exciting. She knew they were assessing the baby for Downs Syndrome or other potential abnormalities at the scan, especially given her age. But she came out of it being told that there didn't look to be a reason for worry much. Though, she was still offered other testing options and another scan at 20 weeks was recommended. She intended to do that one anyways, just to find out the sex of her baby. But, after they managed to get past that discussion, the rest of the experience had truly been amazing for her in a way she hadn't entirely been prepared for.

Hearing the baby's heartbeat had been near startling for her. She wasn't sure what she expected or how she thought she'd feel or react – but it had just made it so incredibly real so instantly. Her OB-GYN had tried to find the heartbeat at their appointment two weeks ago with just a stethoscope during her exam. She hadn't been able to locate it but had assured her that it was normal and that she'd likely have the chance to hear it when she was in for her ultrasound in a couple weeks.

She had been worried that the doctor hadn't been able to find the heartbeat and had feared that she'd lost the baby or that it was a stillborn or somehow she'd never been pregnant at all. So she'd kind of restlessly been awaiting the baby to grow a few weeks older and to become more developed – and to just get into the ultrasound and confirm that everything was alright.

She ended up being so amazed and transfixed getting to hear the noise when it came over the speakers. There was a feeling of relief and then that was quickly replaced the reality that it was all actually happening. She'd been so caught up in just listening to the sound that she'd almost forgotten that she was actually going to get to see the baby – and the incredible depth of the emotion she'd felt when the tech had turned the monitor towards her so she could see had taken her off-guard.

She heard women cried during their ultrasounds. She wasn't expecting to be one of those women. But as she saw the image of the fetus, very clearly a baby and a human that was growing within her, tears had come. She could so clearly see the baby's face and nose and its arms and legs – and it moving. Dancing, the sonographer had called it. She loved that idea. Her baby was a dancer. It had amazed her.

In that moment she'd really been able to put aside some of her misgivings and doubts and fears about her decision to do this – to plough ahead into single motherhood. This beautiful little person was growing inside of her and they already looked so real and so incredibly alive.

She had been feeling her body changing and her pants closing tighter – she felt like she could already start to see the beginnings of her baby bump. But to actually see what – and who – was happening in her had taken it to a whole new level of reality. It was different than looking at ultrasound pictures or reading about what to expect when you're expecting. This was real and it was hers.

She really wanted nothing more than to spend some more time gazing at the photo of her growing baby that had been printed off for her and was now in her coat pocket. She really wanted to get home so she could put the disc she'd been given with photos and video from the ultrasound into her computer and look at it all again. But instead she was stuck in a car with Elliot grilling her and headed off to look at some dead body and then to talk to the devastated family of the girl – again.

"It was the first ultrasound?" He tried again. He was being relentless.

"El, I didn't bug you about all of this stuff while Kathy was pregnant with Eli."

"That was old hat for us by Eli," he said, "and don't act like you don't get into my family's business. Kathleen. My mother. Fin's business – Ken."

She shook her head and gazed out her side window without gracing him with a response.

"You've got people around you that care, Olivia," he said. "You have to let us in eventually – especially with having a kid. You're going to need some help. You can't do it all on your own."

"That's what being a single mother is, El," she said, again with a fuck-off tone to her voice.

"That's the father copping out. That doesn't mean you don't get and deserve help from other places," he told her, glancing her way again.

"You may not want the attention – but you're going to be getting some," he stressed when she remained silent. "There's going to be a lot of people who will be happy for you and happy to help – when you start opening up a bit about what's going on."

"El, I work with the NYPD. I'm a detective. I can't start displaying myself as some pregnant woman."

"You'll have to eventually. You can't be placing yourself in situations that could hurt you or the baby."

"Eventually. Not yet."

He sighed. "Don't you usually get a due date at the first ultrasound?"

"I still haven't said it was an ultrasound," she said again.

"I saw you when I was pulling up – you looked pretty fucking happy until you got in the car and started the 'I don't care, it's not a big deal' act again. You don't have to keep it up for my sake. I'm pretty sure the kind of smile you had plastered on your face isn't one you have after seeing the dentist or getting a flu shot."

She rolled her eyes.

"So you're just into your second trimester or so then, right? So the baby is due … June?"

She sighed. "They dated the baby at 11 weeks, one day. So they estimated the due date as July 2."

Elliot glanced over and gave her a smile. She wasn't sure if he was happy he finally managed to break her and get some information out of her – or if he was actually happy for her.

"Maybe you'll have a July 4th baby," he said.

She shrugged. "Maybe."

He pulled into the parking garage at Warner's office and seemed to focus his attention on navigating the vehicle down the curving ramps for the moment and then finding a spot. She thought the conversation was over but as he put the car into park and turned it off, he'd looked at her again while she undid her seatbelt.

"So where's the sonogram?" He asked.

She glanced at him. "In my pocket," she said, and opened her door to get out. He followed suit.

"Do I get to see it?"

"I wasn't planning on showing it to you," she said, stuffing her hands into her pockets, protectively and also just to make a point.

"You saw Eli's," he said, walking beside her.

"We're out of the car now, El. This is no longer us talking in privacy. So seriously – drop it."

"We're in the parking garage. Com'on. Just a quick look."

She sighed and stopped walking. "El, you do not get to force yourself on me to the point you get to be a part of this every step of the way. That is seriously going to upset me. It's going to hurt our partnership. This is my personal life. It's not work-related."

"Personal life and work can get pretty intertwined, Liv, whether we like it or not. It's the way this job goes," he told her with a deep seriousness to his voice.

She watched him for a moment and then pulled the photo from her pocket and held it out part way to him. "I am asking you as my partner and as my friend, to give me space in all of this. Stop brow-beating me about it all. Let me deal with it my own way in my own space. Trust me to do that and trust that I'll ask for help if I need it."

He looked at her – and nodded slowly, so she handed him the sonogram. She watched him looking at it. It was a brief look but she saw the smile that crept across his face and he glanced up at her with eyes that betrayed a sense of relief though a touch of trepidation for her about what lay ahead. Still there was a happiness in them.

"Always knew you'd end up making some nice looking babies, Liv," he told her and handed it back.

She shook her head at him and the ridiculous comment – but embarrassedly tucked her hair behind her ear. She stood again for a moment and looked at the picture, trying to keep her own smile from spanning across her face. Suddenly when looking at the sonogram the next 29 weeks seemed like a very long time to wait to get to meet her baby. They already looked perfect to her.